Launching device for life-boats.



G. F. HALL.

LAUNCHING DEVICE FOR LIFE BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.18.1918.

l ,289,046 Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

WITNESS ES me mums nu In. www um.:4 msmmnm, n nv GEORGE FREDERIC HALL, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

LAUNCHING DEVICE FOR LIFE-BOATS.

Application filed March 18, 1918.

To aZZ'fwwm t may concern:

` Be it known that l, GEORGE FREDERIC HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Launching Devices for Life-Boats, of which the following is a speciication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improved devices and equipment for the launching of lifeboats from ships at sea.

The obj ect of my invention is to insure the launching of every lifeboat carried by a ship and to overcome the ditiiculty and oftentimes the impossibility of lowering such boats, resulting from the listing or heeling of the ship from the perpendicular following collision, torpedoing or other accident at'sea. As a result of injury below the water line a ship 'invariably heels over on one side and usually under such conditions the lifeboats on the opposite side cannot be launched and the life-saving equipment provided is thus reduced by one-half. My improved devices insure the launching of all the boats, regardless of the angle of heel of the ship, and provide means for guiding the boats to the surface of the water and for fending them from the side of the ship during theperiod of lowering and when afloat, and include other means for detaching the guiding, fending and lowering equipment from the boat after it is afloat upon the water; these results are accon'iplished by certain novel features and devices which are hereinafter described, illustrated in the drawings and finally pointed out in the claims.

ln the drawings Figure l is a view of a lifeboat, equipped with my improved devices, seen in side elevation, the boat being shortened as shown by the broken lines: Fig. :2 is a horizontal plan view of the same, but showing the full length of the boat: Fig. 3 is an end view of my device, the suspended lifeboat being shown partly by dotted lines: Fig. i is a vertical cross section, drawn at small scale, showing a Steamship heeling from the perpendicular and illustrating the manner in which my improved launching device delivers the lifeboat upon the surface of the water; and Fig. 5 is another cross section similarly illustrating the use of my devices on type of Steamship having guards extending outwardly above the water line: Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sec Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Deo. 24, 1918.

Serial No. 223,240.

-tion and Fig. 7 a cross section illustrating the assembling of my device and its attachment to the lifeboat and showing in detail the means provided for positioning and securing the various parts as well as for detaching them from the boat after it is afloat.

As seen from the drawin 's in im roved'.

launching device consists 0f the lifeboat l equipped with a bearing 2 at each end, through which a round shaft 3, adapted to be rotated from within the boat, extends outwardly and upon which is mounted the collar 4; with the eye 5, hereinafter referred to as the suspending means, adapted to revolve around the shaft 3 and providing the means to which the falls or tackle is secured for lowering the boat from the davits or other similar ecuipment of the ship. Upon the outer end of the shaft 3 is rotatably mounted a wheel 6 positioned and detachably held by devices hereinafter described in detail; the axial line of both the bearings attached to the ends of the boat and of the suspending means, wheels Vand shafts is the same and coincides with the intersection or crossing of a horizontal plane extending longitudinally `of the boat with a vertical plane similarly extending, the latter through the middle of the boat, bisecting its stem and stern. lt will be noted that the boat, the shafts, the suspending means and the wheels are free to revolve around this axial line.- rlhe radius of the wheel from its axis to its perimeter always exceeds in dimension any dimension measured at right angles to and from the axial line, before referred to, to any part of the boat or its fixed appurtenances; the device is Vso assembled that when both wheels are resting on a horizontal plane the boat will be suspended from the wheels and may be revolved in a circle around the axial line on its bearings, supported by the shafts and wheels, and when so revolved the circum ference of any circle described by any por tion of the boat and its fixed appurtenances.

will be less than the circumference of the perimeter of the wheel and fall within an imaginarv cylinder having the diameter of the Sperimeter of the wheels and extending con-- tinuously from one wheel to the other.

Any lifeboat having launching devices assembled in the manner described and suspended from davits or otherwise in the manner usually adopted on shipboard can be lowered away and down to the 'water regardless of the angle of heel of the ship from the perpendicular, the boat swinging free on the heeled down side and dropping perpendicularly to the water while on the opposite side the wheels will contact with the sides of the ship and :following its contour deliver the boat upon the water; and during its progress the boat will retain a perpendicular position; the lowering and hoisting tackle extending from the davits atta-ches to the eyes 5 of the collar 4, which revolves around the shaft, and while the boat is being lowered assists in maintaining the contact of the wheels with the side of the ship as shown in Figs.'4 and 5. In the case of a ship with an over-hanging guardas shown in Fig. 5 the wheels would fend and guide the boat over and around the guard until the lowering 4tackle comes in 'Contact with the guard; the

balance of the distance to the water would be a controlled perpendicular drop, the tackle dragging across the guard rail.

A lifeboat and a launching device assembled as specified will insure the delivery of the boat in an upright position upon the water over a surface of any contour and said surface may be at any angle, from the hori- Zontal to the perpendicular, with the water line. If a boat, thus equipped, was slung above or rested upon a flat, unobstructed boat deck or if proper arrangements were made on a top deck, it could be trundled across the deck, on its wheels, from one side to the other and launched upon the leeward and less exposed side of the ship improving its chances of safely getting away therefrom.

Throughout the period of lowering the boat retains an upright position and the wheels act as fenders, keeping the boat away from the side of the ship and after the boat is afloat in rough water, the wheels prevent the boat from fouling the side of the ship and capsizing, and because of their rotary motion ease the boat when the wheels are forced against the ship by the motion of the The wheels are both detachable from the lifeboat, from inside the boat itself, as hereinafter indicated and at will of the occupants of the boat; the suspending means are similarly detachable and the lowering tackle may be detached from the suspending means in the usual manner. It is preferable that the wheels be detached before the lowering tackle is cast off as the tackle will act to prevent a wheel, when loosened, from tipping inwardly toward the bow or stern of the boat and will guide it outboard; the wheels may be of non-buoyant construction and adapted to sink as soon as released, or they may-be made buoyant so that they will iioat, and if equipped with life lines would become life rafts and sustain persons not accommodated in the boats; this secondary use of the wheels suggest-s itself because of the difficulty of launching life rafts from the side of a ship opposite its heeled down side. If buoyant wheels were used a lift boat and two life rafts would be launched at one operation. In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the rims 7 of the wheels 6 are shown of such size as would permit of their being formed as tanks containing compressed air, or litted with cellular or other lioats which would insure buoyancy for life raft purposes. There are various other means ofv bringing about this result, among which might be mentioned wooden wheels, tubular wheels, disk wheels with acontained air space, but all such adaptations for insuring buoyancy for the purposes indicated are within the scope of my invention.-

The devices for detaching the wheels and suspending means are shown-inv Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and in detail in Figs.V 6 and 7 in Fig. 6 the bearing 2 is shown Vfixedly at.n tached to and forming a part of the stem or sternpost 9 of the boat.l This bearing is bored for the round shaft 3; secured to the bearing and extending inwardly of the boat is the tubular casing 10, having at itsV opposite end another bearing 11 which is secured to the upright 12 of the air tank bulkhead of the boat; this bearing is tapped with screw thread adapted to mesh with the screw thread on the nboard end of the shaft 3; this shaft is hollow and has length sufIici-ent for outboard projection to receive the suspend-ing collar 4, with its eye 5, and the wheel 6, all of which are adapted to revolve around the shaft-the shaft itself is revolu'ble in its bearings, at either end, being turned by the wheel 13 and crank 14 at the inboard end thereof; the inner end of the shaft is screw threaded through the bearing 11 and this thread is of sharp pitch and has length suliicient to insure, when the crank 14 isturned, its withdrawal within the hearing 2 of the extended end of the shaft 3 projecting beyond the end of the bearing 2 and which is secured to the stemor stern of the boat; the withdrawal of the shaft to 'the hollow shaft 3 is fitted with a anged cap 16 which slips into the end of shaft, not screwed, and is fitted with pins 17 ex-tending into the end of the shaft to insure its rotation with the shaft and not otherwise; this cap isrloosely litted and is inclosed within the hub of the wheel by the hub cap 13 screwed to the wheel hub, there being some :nase-,oliev space between the caps; the flanged cap 16 is heldin place on the end of the shaft 3 by the rod 19 which is screw threaded into the cap 16 at its end and extends inwardly through the axis of the hollow shaft, revolving through the bearing 20 near its outer end and the screw bearing 21 near its inner end and keyed through the hub of the wheel 22 and provided with a crank 23 at its inboard end; the two screw threads on the rod are of the same pitch and when the crank 23 is turned the end of the rod is screwed into or out of engagement with the flanged cap 16. A stop collar 24 on the rod 19 limits the travel of rod inboardto a distance only sufficient to disengage the cap 16. The boat is launched with the devices assembled as specified and with wheels and suspending devices in place and free to rotate around the projecting shaft; the wheels and suspending devices are prevented from being disengaged from the shaft by the flanged cap 16 secured by the rod 19, etc., as before described; when the boat is afloat and ready to be cast off the person in charge rotates the crank 23 until it vstops on its inward travel by reason of the stop 24 and such action releases the flanged cap 16; the crank 14 -and wheel 13 are then rotated and by reason of its screw bearing 11 the threaded end of the shaft is drawn inwardly into the bearing 11 and the outer end of shaft 3 is likewise drawn inwardly through Ybearing 2, rst releasing the wheel 6 and then theY suspending collar 4, and the boat is free of the ship; with this device it is possible to release the wheels at any time for inspection or repairs without any ofthe restraining parts being displaced or lost, a desirable' feature when boats are lowered for boat drill. The inner casing 10 inclosing the shaft prevents water from entering the boat through the bearing 2. Y

The best results are obtained by rotatably mounting the suspending means upon the shafts and securing one end of the lowering tackle to such means,'but fair results will follow the attachmentof the ends of said tackle to an eyebolt or similar device secured to each of the bow and stern of the boat above the'axial line of the wheels; such suspending means are within the scope of my invention.

l claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent:-

1. In a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of boat, a bearing secured to the bow and another to the stern of the boat, a round shaft extending outwardly from each of the bearings, a suspending means rotatably mounted upon each shaft and adapted for the attachment of a lowering tackle, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft, the axial line of all said bearings, shafts, suspending means and wheels coinl cidingwith the crossing of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting the bow and the stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured at right angles to and from said axial line to any part of the boat or its fixed appurtenances, lowering tackle depending from a ship and attached to each of the suspending means and the whole assemblage adapted for launching said lifeboat from said ship.

2. In a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of a boat, a bearing secured to the bow and another to the stern of the boat, a round shaft extending outwardly from each of the beaings, a suspending means rotatably mounted upon each shaft, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft, the axial line of all of said bearings, shafts, suspending means and wheels coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a ver tical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting the bow and the stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured at right angles to and from said axial line to any part of the boat or its fixed appurtenances and a lowering tackle at each end of the boat, each secured at one of its ends to one of the suspending means and at its opposite end to a davit or other ap,- purtenance of a ship, and the whole assemblage adapted for launching said lifeboatv from said ship.

3. In a. launching device for lifeboats, the combinationlof a boat, a bearing sec-ured to the bow anld another to the stern of the boat, a round shaft extending outwardly from each of the bearings, a wheel mounted upon each shaft and adapted to rotate thereon, the axial line of all of said bearings, shafts and wheels coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting the bow and the stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured at right angles to and from said axial line to any part of the boat or its fixed appurtenances, a hoisting and lowering tackle at each end of thc boat, each secured at one of its ends to means attached to either the bow or the stern of the boat and at its opposite end to a davit or other appurtenance of a ship and the whole assemblage adapted for launching said lifeboat from said ship and controlling its progress to the surface of the water.

4. In a launching device for lifeboats,`the

combination of a boat, a bearing secured to the bow and ano-ther to the stern of theboat, a round shaft extending outwardly from each of the bearings, a suspending means 'rotatably mounted upon each shaft and adapted for the attachment of a yhoisting and lowering tackle depending from a ship, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft, the axial line' of all Vof said bearings, shafts, suspending means and wheels 4coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a Vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting the bow and the stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured a't right angles to andd from said axial line to any par-t of the boat or its xed appurtenances and the whole lso assembled that the boat, the shafts, the suspending means and the wheels are revoluble around said axial line, the boat and its fixed appurtenances turning within the confines of an imagina-ry cylinder, having diameter equal to that of the perimeter of the wheels, extending from wheel to wheel.

5. InV a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of a boat, a bearing secured at the bow and another at the stern of the boat, a round shaft extending outwardly from each of the bearings, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft to revolve at right angles to the axis of the shaft, the axial line `of said bearings, shafts and wheels coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting-the bow and stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured at right angles to and from said axial line lto any part ofthe boat or its fixed appurtenances, means adapted to position and detachably hold each wheel upon its shaft, means adapted to displace and detach each wheel from its shaft andy free it from the boat, all of said wheel positioning, holding and detaching means operable from the boat at will of an occupant thereof and hoisting and lowering tackle depending from a ship and attached at the bow and a similar tackle attached at the stern of the boat suspending it from the ship in position to beV means coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat'for the full length thereof, the vertical plane bisecting the bow and stern of the boat, means adapted to position and detachably hold Y each suspending means upon its shaft, means adapted -to displace and detach each suspending means from its shaft and free it from the boat, all of said positioning, displacing and detaching means operable from -the boat at will of an occupant thereof and hoisting and lowering tackle dependingl from a ship and attached to each of the suspending means and adapted to support the boat from the ship in position to be launched therefrom.

7. In a launching device for lifeboats, the' each shaft, means adapted to position and detachably hold each wheel upon its shaft, means adapted to position and detachably hold each suspending means upon its shaft, means adapted tor displace and detach each wheel from its shaft, and each suspending means from its shaft and free them from` the boat, said positioning, holding, displacing and detaching means operable from thel boat at will of .an occupant thereof to free the wheels and the suspending means from the boat gem'atz'm and hoisting andv lowering tackle depending from aship and attached to the suspending means and adapted to support the boat from the ship in .position to be launched therefrom.

. 8. In a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of a boat, a bearing secured at the bow and another at the stern of the boat, a rcund shaft outwardly extending from each of the bearings, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft to revolve at rig-ht angles to the axis of the shaft, means adapted to position and detachably hold each wheel upon its shaft, means adapted to displace anddetach each wheel from its shaftV and free it from the boat, all of said wheel positioning, holding and detaching means operable from the boat at will of an occupant thereo'f, said wheels constructed to insure buoyancy and to ioat upon the water when detached from the boat and hoisting and lowering tackle depending from a ship and attached at the bow and a Similar tackle attached at the stern of the boat suspending it from the ship in position to be launched therefrom. l

9. In a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of aboat, a bearing secured at the bow and another at the'Y stern of the boat,

llO

a round shaft outwardly extending from each of the bearings, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft to revolve at right angles to thc axis of the shaft, means adapted to position and detachably hold each wheel upon its shaft, means adapted to displace and detach each wheel from its shaft and free it from the boat, all of said wheel positioning, holding and detaching means operable from the boat at will of an occupant thereof, said wheels constructed to insure buoyancy and to float upon the water when detached from the boat, a suspending means rotatably mounted on each shaft and hoisting and lowering tackle depending from a ship and attached to each suspending means and adapted to support the boat from the ship in position to be launched therefrom.

l0. In a launching device for lifeboats, the combination of a boat, a bearing secured to the bow and another to the stern of the boa-t, a rotatable shaft extending outwardly of the boat from each of the bearings, a suspending means rotatably mounted upon each shaft and adapted for the attachment of a hoisting` and a lowering tackle depending` from a ship, a wheel rotatably mounted upon each shaft, the axial line of all of said bearings, shafts, suspending means and wheels coinciding with the crossing of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane both extending longitudinally of the boat for the full length thereof.l the vertical plane bisecting the bow and stern of the boat, the radius of each wheel, measured from its axis to its perimeter, having dimension in excess of any dimension measured at right angles to and from said axial line to any part of the boat or its fixed appurtenances, all of said parts so assembled that the boat, the shafts, the suspending means and wheels are revoluble around said axial line, each shaft provided with means operable from the boat and adapted to draw the projecting end of the shaft inwardly of its bearing to free the wheel and suspending means from the boat and hoisting and lowering tackle depending from a ship and attached to each of the suspending means for supporting said boat from the ship in a position to be launched therefrom. Y

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE FREDERIC HALL. Witnesses:

EDGAR L. BOWEN, FRANK J. ANTHONY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

